[AMERICANS ABROAD] With Clint Dempsey leading way, Fulham defeated German champion Wolfsburg, 2-1, in the first leg of their Europa League semifinal series.

Dempsey was involved in both goals, feeding Bobby Zamora for the first goal in the 59th minute and making the initial pass in the buildup to Damien Duff's goal four minutes later.

Dempsey had three chances of his own during the game but did not connect.

"I thought we dominated both halves," Dempsey said afterwards. "We had most of the possession and took the game more to them than they took it to us. We could have possibly won 3-0 if a few shots had gone our way. I had a shot that was going far post but was deflected that looked like it was going to go in. Zoltan [Gera] had a good chance that was deflected. We were more dangerous throughout the game and I thought the better team won."

The second leg will be played Thursday at Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena.